“Twitch.tv of the Death Nerve:” A Review Of SLEEPLESS BEAUTY
Kevin Smith’s “Dogma” has a deleted scene where a character sees a flash of “the most fucked-up shit ever” as per the script. It was never filmed, but if it was, I bet it would look something like the animated sequence that pops up midway through “Sleepless Beauty.”
“A Russian ‘Martyrs’” could have been the gruesome elevator pitch for this throwback to torture porn films of yore. Call it “yorture porn.” It even could have been made in 2009, except for a hint of 2020 technology.
Polina Davydova plays Mila, a young woman who is abducted, only to wake up in a “Saw”-like room. A cheerfully creepy voice booms from a loudspeaker telling her she must abide by a vague schedule and stay awake while she’s there, however long that will be. If you’re sitting back in your chair like someone who’s “seen it all” and you’re asking what could she possibly go through that you haven’t seen before, well…the answer will either be too much for you, or right up your alley.
Mila’s only contact from the outside world is a man in a balaclava who never speaks. He facilitates as she’s beaten. forced to watch live murder, and made to forage through a bucket of what we’re led to believe is baby parts, while the unseen voice torments her about an alleged abortion. Oh, and this is all while she’s being recorded on a livestream with a Twitch-iike chat feature, complete with “admins” providing exposition to randos who aren’t quite sure what they’re watching. Soon, the man forces Mila to watch the aforementioned animated sequence on an Oculus Rift.
Yeah, I’m more of a Playstation VR guy, myself.
Imagine a flash animation from the mind of a deeply repressed seminary student, inspired by the interstitial animations from “Monty Python” and “Hellraiser.” It’s impressive in it’s grotesque absurdity and might be worth the price of the film alone if this is still up your aforementioned alley.
This all begs the question of most torture porn films: “Why? Where is this headed?” Director Pavel Khvaleev and writer Aleksandra Khvaleeva assure you there is a reason for all the carnage and schadenfreude as the film unfolds, but by then you might be a bit exhausted. “Sleeping Beauty” is a well-made downer, but to quote the toxic online culture it mocks, it “feels bad, man.”
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